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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1835.PDF
IN-FLIGHT ENTERTAINMENT STRATEGY DAVID KAMINSKI-MORROW / LONDON Ryanair shoots to frill with video Budget carrier to test IFE system on five Stansted aircraft Ryanair has signalled a major departure in its no-frills policy by deciding to offer in-flight entertain ment (IFE) on its low-cost services. The airline expects the move to have an immediate impact on its bottom line, with at least €14 million ($17 million) in first-year earnings predicted from its new portable IFE system, which will be tested on selected London Stansted services from 1 November. Known as the DigEplayer 5500, the system has been developed by Tacoma-based Aircraft Protective Systems (APS) and comprises a hand-held unit weighing about 1.5kg (3.31b) with a screen the size of a small paperback book. It has simple menu-selection and visual/audio controls, much like a portable digital versatile disc (DVD) player, except that the entertainment programme is stored on a 40Gb hard drive. It operates on a 1 Oh battery. Ryanair is committing to 6,000 units initially and will offer the sys tem on five Stansted-based aircraft to begin with, providing 24 units on each flight. If the trial is successful, the car rier will make the system available across its entire Boeing 737-800 fleet by March. KLM has also signed a contract for an unspecified number of DigEplayers which it will initially offer in the first-class cabins of its Boeing 737s. APS founder and chairman Bill Boyer says that the system will pro vide a range of entertainment, including films, pre-recorded tele vision programmes, music and games. Boyer, a former baggage-handler for Alaska Airlines, developed the DigEplayer idea after Alaska can celled plans to install a dedicated IFE system on more than 80 of its aircraft. Alaska Airlines now uses the APS equipment - it has reserved 5,000 units - while Canadian low- cost carrier Jetsgo offers the system on flights lasting for 3h or longer. In-flight video is the chief executive's new vision to boost revenue O'Leary's latest revolution Ryanair chief Michael O'Leary says he is "amazingly excited" about the introduction of in-flight entertainment: "We think this is the next revolution in the low-fare airline industry." He adds that the carrier's income estimate from the system is based on a 3% market penetra tion. But he believes the actual take-up will be much higher. The consoles will be handed out at the beginning of the flight for a flat fee "on a first-come, first-served basis". O'Leary says the charge will be about £5 ($9) but adds: "We don't know where the pricing will end up - it will probably be a dynamic scale depending on the flight." O'Leary says that, given the high cost of the units, the primary concern is theft. The carrier plans to ask passengers who want to use a console to hand over their passport or other means of identifi cation as security. Ryanair will update the content every two months, although O'Leary says this could be reduced to a month. The carrier will also review demand for the system on its services and adjust the number of consoles available accordingly. ANTENNA CHOICE Arinc has selected Starling's new Mijet antenna for use in its SkyLink satellite broadband service for commercial airlines. Starling is a subsidiary of Israeli defence companies Rafael and Elbit Systems. Arinc has also picked Miltope to provide wire less cabin technology for the roll-out of its SkyLink onboard passenger Internet service. SATCOM SYSTEM Hawaii's Island Air is the first air line to select AirCell's ST 3100 satcom system for voice and data communications on board its aircraft. The carrier will equip the cockpits of its entire fleet of Bombardier Dash 8 turboprops. ON-BOARD EQUIPMENT GRAHAM DUNN / SEATTLE Qatar to launch Rockwell live television service Qatar Airways will introduce onboard live television next year after signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to become Rockwell Collins' launch customer for the Tailwind 560 satellite broad cast service. Rockwell Collins senior director airshow systems Tim Rayl provided details of the new onboard live tele vision service for airlines at last week's World Airline Entertainment Association (WAEA) annual confer ence and exhibition in Seattle. The new system is derived from the Tailwind 550 - Rockwell's live broadcast system that has been operational in several large aircraft in the VIP sector for 18 months. Tailwind 560, which has been developed for integration with commercial airline inflight enter tainment systems, currently offers 32 channels of live broadcast across a number of regions. "We can make the system work wherever a DBS [direct broadcast satellite] service is available," says Rayl. Commercial airline use of onboard live television services has so far been limited to the US domestic market. Now the scope has expanded, Rockwell says it is seeing strong interest from European and Middle East airlines. Rockwell says it has an MoU with one Middle East carrier, Qatar Airways. The MoU envisages Qatar equipping 35 aircraft - a mix of existing and on-order Airbus A330- 200/300S and A340-600s - with the new system. Rockwell product manager, space-based delivered products, Christopher Merry says the airline is set to go live with the service "in the first half of 2005". Delivery of Qatar's first Airbus line- fit installation of the service will fol low in 2006. • Air New Zealand (ANZ) is to be launch customer of Rockwell Collins' new upgraded moving- map systems, with the installation of the new Airshow 4200 system on 15 of its Boeing aircraft. ANZ will outfit eight new Boeing 777-200s and seven existing Boeing 747-400s with the Airshow 4200 - one of two new upgraded moving-map products launched by Rockwell. Installations are set to begin next year. 16 28 SEPTEMBER - 4 OCTOBER 2004 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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